I am truly heartbroken by the news that comes in every day about Ukraine. Among anything else, all armed attacks must be stopped, and people’s lives must be prioritized. But in reality, this is not happening. What should we focus on? What can we do? I am pondering these questions as I watch the news and social networking sites. The military invasion by Russia is unacceptable and cannot be justified in any way. They should immediately stop the attack and withdraw from the region. At the same time, however, I feel that the news reports we see and what is conveyed as claims of the Western-centered “international community” are too…
Limited sale! Bring smiles to children by supporting the 2022 International Cooperation Calendar!
[Original by Mai NAMIKI, Public Relations/Fundraising Manager (September 14, 2021); Translated by E. Miyazaki /A. Taguchi] The 2022 JVC International Cooperation Calendar is on sale from September 1. The calendar has been sold for 35 years through the support of many fans. Let the smiles of children from all over the world warm your heart by hanging a calendar on your wall. This year’s photographer is Mr. Masashi MITSUI. He has been taking pictures in Asian frontiers while traveling by motorcycle. He has been taking pictures guided by the theme of smiles and working people and was awarded the 2018 Grand Prix of Nikkei National Geographic Photography Award. The theme…
Situation in Afghanistan and Safety of Local Partner Officials
According to news reports, the Taliban has rapidly expanded its control area in Afghanistan and has taken over almost the entire country. It is reported that many civilians have been killed and injured, and we are heartbroken. In the eastern province of Nangarhar, we partnered with Your Voice Organization (YVO), a local NGO, to support local educational activities. Although our activities ended in May this year, YVO’s activities have continued since then and we have kept in touch with YVO and continue to be interested in the situation in Afghanistan. We have been in contact with the YVO staff and have started to understand the situation. According to YVO in…
Activities and Status Report During the Corona Pandemic
[Original (March 26, 2021); Translated by K. Adachi/A. Taguchi] JVC runs supplementary classes for the children of refugees who lost the opportunity for education in Kaduqli, South Kordofan State of Sudan. Kaduqli is a region that has experienced conflicts for a long time and the importance of education is being emphasized in order to build a society that does not rely on violence. This year, we constructed multiple school buildings and donated desks and chairs. Considering the risk of infection from the new coronavirus, elementary schools in Kaduqli are currently dispersing the students for each grade level. We will continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Education and related parties…
Completion of Country Programs in Cambodia, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Iraq
Thank you for your continued support of JVC. Please be advised that our country programs in Cambodia, Thailand, Afghanistan, and Iraq will be completed by the end of fiscal year 2020 (March 2021). Last year, JVC celebrated its 40th anniversary. We took this as an opportunity to discuss our course of action for the future; along with considering new developments, we also reviewed the state of our current activities. This discussion led us to the decision to cease activities in the four countries listed above. Since the establishment of our organization in 1980, our activities in Cambodia and Thailand have produced results in various fields, beginning with refugee support and…
Announcement of the reopening of the JVC Tokyo office from June 8th
In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections, we have temporarily closed our Tokyo office until May 31st. On May 25th, the Japanese Government lifted the emergency declaration and the number of newly infected persons has been decreasing. Considering these situations, we have decided to reopen our office from June 8th by combining it with our remote working system. You can make donations and shop on our website as usual, but it may take time for the following procedures due to the limited manpower: Dispatching of documents or goods from JVC such as the issuance of receipt and materials. Response to postal mail or FAX to JVC such as…
Extension of the temporary closure of the JVC Tokyo office due to COVID-19
In view of the current situation of COVID-19 infections and the request by the government on the activities of citizens, we have decided to extend the temporary closure of our office to May 31, 2020 (as of April 24, 2020).
Announcement of the temporary closure of the JVC Tokyo office and our action against COVID-19
In view of the widespread COVID-19 infections, we have decided to act as follows (as of April 2, 2020): Staff duty In order to secure the safety of our staff members, we will close the Tokyo office from April 6 to May 6, 2020. We will continue our work at home and take advantage of online meetings. We ask for your kind understanding and cooperation on this matter. You can still make donations and shop on our website as usual, but it may take some time for the following procedures: Dispatching of documents or goods from JVC such as the issuance of receipt and materials. Response to postal mail or…
Event Report: The Pyongyang we Witnessed. Let’s Share Ideas about it with Journalist Jun HORI (October 11, 2019)
[Original by Risa FUJII, 2018 Public Relations Intern (November 19, 2019); Translated by T. Yamauchi/J. Sparks] After finishing the internship on public relations in March 2019, I came back to JVC as a part-timer. I am pleased to have an opportunity to write a blog on JVC again. Today, I will report on the event The Pyongyang we Witnessed. Let’s Share Ideas about it with Journalist Jun HORI, which was held on October 11, 2019. In this event, JVC invited journalist Jun Hori, who attended the Japan-North Korea Exchange Program for two consecutive years. He reported his findings on his visits to Pyongyang, and the participants discussed the importance of…
Notice about the Typhoon No. 19 (Hagibis)
We sincerely express our deep sympathy for those who were affected by the giant typhoon No. 19 (Hagibis). While we are collecting information about the damage, we currently do not have plans to conduct any relief actions based on JVC’s criteria for emergency assistance in Japan. If you are willing to volunteer for or donate to any assistance activities for those affected by this typhoon, we recommend you to visit the website of Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation (JANIC), a network of NGOs to which JVC is also affiliated. It gives you information about the emergency assistance provided by various Japanese NGOs, guidelines for the evacuation in case of…